


Suck it up

by the_vampire_turtle



Series: Sanders Sides Swimmerverse [4]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Butterfly, Distance, Freestyle, Gen, POV, Swim, Swim Club, Swim Team, Swimming, Swimming Pool, backstroke, breaststroke, inner thoughts, kicking, pulling, sprint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29221335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_vampire_turtle/pseuds/the_vampire_turtle
Summary: Janus never liked sprints. That doesn't mean he couldn't try though.
Series: Sanders Sides Swimmerverse [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143902
Kudos: 3





	Suck it up

**Author's Note:**

> At swim practice we do sets that are made up of a distance or couple of distances on intervals. Intervals are the amount of time we have to swim the distance. For example: 6 x 100s on 1:25 means that you have to swim six 100s, and each one has to be swum in a minute and twenty five seconds.

3rd person POV

Janus glided back into the wall with minimal effort. Yesterday's two hour practice had been terribly exhausting, and his shoulders were killing him. Coach Thomas, however, didn't seem to share his sympathy on the matter.

"All right!" He shouted, clapping his hands together, "10x 50s. 4 on :45, 3 on :40, 2 on :35, 1 _under_ :30!" There was a collective groan across the pool as swimmers realized just how much worse this next set was going to be. Coach Thomas paused for a moment for dramatic effect and then said, "Four times through."

If possible the groans and complaints got louder, screams of anguish and cries of panic blending with the complaints of swimmers who were simply annoyed they had to be here at all. Janus could sympathize with them. He was very much starting to wish he was anywhere else. He didn't have much time to think about it though, because Thomas had announced they were starting on the top, and Janus barely had enough time to snap his goggles back on before he was pushing off the wall.

The first four 50s weren't terrible. :45 was a pretty fair interval, and Janus found that he could glide through the water fairly comfortably. When he came up at the wall though, he didn't have as much time as he would've liked. No problem, he would just pick up the pace for the 40 second ones. Janus made his way up and down the lane a few more times, cursing his coach's choice to make him a distance swimmer. When he finally left to start the 40 second 50s, he realized his mistake. Janus had gone out too slow.

The next three 50s were a blur of arms and legs as the distance swimmer struggled to keep pace. When the interval got faster again, Janus resigned himself to swimming continuously, flipturning on every wall and hoping that the set would be over soon. As soon as the first round was finished, Thomas announced that the swimmers could take a minute of rest before doing it again. Janus pressed his head against the wall, closing his eyes and trying to muster the courage to push off of the wall again. Looking around, his teammates looked to be feeling the same way he did. _Well._ He thought. _At least I'm not the only one suffering._

The next two rounds went about the same. Janus tried. He really did. He tried to start out faster, tried to kick harder, he even tried breathing less, which led to his side cramping up painfully. Janus was resting his head on the pool deck again, trying desperately to think of a good excuse to get out of the rest of practice, when he saw coach Thomas's sneakers enter his field of vision. 

"You doin' okay there Janus?" Thomas's voice sounded more amused than concerned, but Janus still took the question as an opportunity to gain pity from his coach.

"Not really." Man, he sounded pitiful.

"Suck it up." Janus looked up in exasperation. Was this guy serious?! "You can handle it." Thomas said. He walked away with one more reminder that they were starting again on the top, leaving Janus to fend for himself.

The last round started off better. Janus was thoroughly pissed with his coach, but he always said he swam better when he was angry. He started to rely on his legs more, something he quickly realized he should have been doing sooner. Though he had felt he was doing better, Janus started to slip. He was so exhausted, and he could no longer feel his shoulders. Somehow, this only seemed to anger him further. Janus was the oldest. He was supposed to be the leader. He could get through this set.

He continued to swim, pushing past what he thought was his limit. When the set finished Janus pressed his forehead into the cold metal of the gutter, fighting off the wave of nausea that washed over him. He felt like crying. Thomas clapped his hands loudly again. 

"Nice job guys! 300 cool down and then get out of here!"

Janus tenderly pushed off the wall, slipping into an easy backstroke to stretch out his shoulders. His limbs were shaking, and his heart felt like it was going to punch a hole through his ribcage, but he had finished the set. The set that he hadn't thought he'd be able to finish. He kept pushing, and led his lane through it, despite the difficulties. Janus knew that some people in his group hadn't made it. They had stopped, claiming an 'injury' or an impulsive need to use the restroom, but Janus had finished the set. He had gone past his breaking point, past his limits, and though Janus knew he would be sore tomorrow, he also knew that his hard work today would pay off in the future.


End file.
